What to eat before a big workout or race is a question I get constantly.
It’s a completely myth that only endurance athletes need to consume pre workout carbohydrates. For those who train in the morning, an overnight fast can leave your liver glycogen depleted by 80%, greatly reducing your capacity to perform. Having a pre workout meal rich in carbohydrate works to increase carbohydrate availability and improve performance. The effects of carbohydrate intake before workouts are most evident in >2hr efforts, when carbohydrate depletion comes into play at a greater level.
Hard, long training sessions or races push your body’s limits and demand optimal performance. These efforts need fuel, mainly in the form of carbohydrate, and likely much more than you’re currently taking in. It is such a common mistake that athletes take in too few calories and too few carbohydrates before these sessions. This under fueling will lead to suffering performances, increase injury risk, bonking, and not seeing the body composition you want.
For these events, the goal is to wake up and fuel your body with a substantial meal of primarily carbohydrates a few hours beforehand. This ensures your body has enough energy to perform and enough time to digest. On top of this larger meal, aim to take in a small carbohydrate snack about 30 minutes before starting to top off energy levels.
Take a look at the example below. How did your last pre-workout meal compare?
Other great sources of pre event carbohydrates include pancakes with maple syrup, waffles, rice pudding with banana, cream of wheat with jam, cold cereals with almond milk, fruit, bagels w/ honey, sweetened beverages, fruit smoothies, granola with sweetened yogurt, etc…
Having issues with your pre race fueling or raceday plan?
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